Once the audience had filed out, Serge began to wonder who, if anyone,

Question

Competition Mode Question

Once the audience had filed out, Serge  began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech.

A. began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech.
B. began wondering whom, if anyone, had listened to his long speech.
C. began wondering whom, if anyone, listens to his long speech.
D. began to wonder who, if anyone, was listening to his long speech.
E. began wondering who, if anyone, was listening to his long speech.

PTD1995 · Answer

Option A

A)  Correct

B) The correct relative pronoun is    who

C) Same as B

D) Incorrect verb tense. Should be an action in the past; not continous

E) Same as D

ankaua · Answer

Easy split:  who  vs  whom  - we need subject pronoun not an object one, so B and C are out.

began to wonder  vs  began wondering  in options D and E look pretty similar to me. And as we cannot have two correct options, I would guess that both are out, and start looking closely to A: 
 Once the audience had filed out, Serge began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech .

And nothing is wrong with A: it is perfectly fine to consider that action of listening (Past Perfect) happened before the action of wondering (Past Simple).  A is the correct choice.

eakabuah · Answer

The right answer is A in my view.

Split #1: who vs whom.
The verbs had listened/listens/was listening require a subject pronoun rather than an object pronoun. Hence the subject pronoun  who  rather than  whom  is appropriate in the context. Based on this split, we can eliminate B and C for the wrongful use of the object pronoun whom.

Split #2: had listened vs was listening.
In order to determine which of the two tenses is correct, we need to look at the meaning of the sentence. There was an event and clearly the event was over and the audience  had filed  out per the information provided in the non-underlined portion. After the show ended, Serge began to wonder about who  had listened/listens/was listening  to his long speech. It is worth noting that the action of listening took place in the past. So, the simple present tense  listens  is incorrect. In addition, the act of listening was not a background activity before Serge began to ponder because the show had ended and the audience had filed out before he began to wonder. Hence,  was listening  is incorrect. The act of listening is a past prior action hence the right verb tense is  had listened . Based on this, D and E can be eliminated for the use of the wrong verb tense.

We are left with A as the best answer that conveyed the sequence of events using the right verb-tense  had listened  and also the subject pronoun  who .

Once the audience had filed out, Serge began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech.

A. began to wonder  who , if anyone,  had listened  to his long speech.
B. began wondering  whom , if anyone,  had listened  to his long speech.
C. began wondering  whom , if anyone,  listens  to his long speech.
D. began to wonder  who , if anyone,  was listening  to his long speech.
E. began wondering  who , if anyone,  was listening  to his long speech.

unraveled · Answer

Once the audience had filed out, Serge  began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech.

A. began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech. - WRONG. Two past actions can never use past perfect tense.
B. began wondering whom, if anyone, had listened to his long speech. - WRONG. Same error as option A + 'whom' usage, if at all correct, slightly changes meaning.
C. began wondering whom, if anyone, listens to his long speech. - WRONG. Present tense with a past perfect tense is wrong + 'whom' usage issue.
D. began to wonder who, if anyone, was listening to his long speech. - WRONG. Going by the meaning Serge instinctively starts wondering after audience had filled out. Here infinitive form of verb changes meaning rather it's wrong. 
E. began wondering who, if anyone, was listening to his long speech. - CORRECT. Instantaneously Serge wonders questioning who was listening. Here 'listening' is not a verb but a gerund.

IMO Answer E.

debjit1990 · Answer

Ans: D
A)Tense error
b)whom--wrong
c)whom-wrong
d)correct
e)doesn't sound right

daagh · Answer

Ans. must be A, for using the correct subject pronoun 'who', the correct tense 'had listened' and the normally accepted infinitive idiom 'to wonder'

joohwangie · Answer

Once the audience had filed out, Serge began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech.

A. began to wonder who, if anyone, had listened to his long speech.
B. began wondering  whom,  if anyone, had listened to his long speech.
C. began wondering  whom,  if anyone, listens to his long speech.
D. began to wonder who, if anyone, was listening to his long speech.
E. began wondering who, if anyone, was listening to his long speech.

'Who' must be used since it is the subject not 'whom' as the object.
filed out is past tense, therefore Serge already spoke therefore had listened must be used.

Therefore, A

exc4libur · Answer

NOTES: timeline of events in the past listened---filed---wonder, we need two "had" to present two events that happened before another event in the past.

Ans (A)

Once the audience had filed out, Serge began to wonder who, if anyone,

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GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Once the audience had filed out, Serge began to wonder who, if anyone,

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